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Southern War of Independence
The Southern War of Independence, also called the War Between the States and American Civil War. Was a war that started on April 12, 1861 and ended on July 28, 1863 after the Confederate Vivtory at Gettysbug on July 3 of 1863. The war resulted in the established and recognized independence of the Confederate States of America as it was clear that the Union could not force them back into the United States, or to do so would cost the Union too much. Causes of the War The Southern War of Indepdence had many causes and the tension that resulted in the war were building for a couple decades. But the immediate causes will be discussed here. There were three main building causes that pushed the Southern Confederacy away from the Union. The first and most obvious was slavery, at the time the Confederacy was a slave holding nation and some within it desired to spread it's institution. The second was economics and the passage of tarrifs that hurt southern planters and benefited northern factories. And the last issue was the interpretation of the Constitution and role of government between States and the Federal government. These were the boiling points but the spark that ignited the war was the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States of America. A very unpopular choice in the south and in most cases never appeared on the ballot and won the role of President without the support of a single Southern State. The south believed that now that the north could elect whomever they desired without southern approval that there was no longer any reason to believe they were equal partners in the Union. And thus seven deep southern states seceded, starting with South Carolina. Tensions continued to rise between the newly declared Confederacy and the Union and multiple offers of peace were sent to Washington DC. All of which were refused to be seen by Abraham Lincoln as he did not wish to negotiate with a 'rebellion'. The atmosphere was tense and papers on both sides screamed for war. And a perfect powder keg was given at Fort Sumter, when Confederate Forces took the fort by force after they refused surrender. Abraham Lincoln called up a force of 75,000 volunteers to crush the Southern Confederacy. This drove more states into the Confederacy as they refused to invade the south. And the Southern War of Indepdence had begun. Battle of Bull Run and Union Blockade The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas (the name used by Confederate forces), was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the city of Manassas. It was the first major land battle of the Southern War of Independence. Just months after the start of the war at Fort Sumter, the Yankee public clamored for a march against the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, which they expected to bring an early end to the rebellion. Yielding to political pressure, Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell led his unseasoned Union army across Bull Run against the equally inexperienced Confederate Army of Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beuregard camped near Manassas Junction. McDowell's ambitious plan for a surprise flank attack on the Confederate left was poorly executed by his officers and men; nevertheless, the Confederates, who had been planning to attack the Union left flank, found themselves at an initial disadvantage. Confederate reinforcements under Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad and the course of the battle quickly changed. A brigade of Virginians under a relatively unknown colonel from the Virginia Military Institute, Thomas J. Jackson, stood their ground and Jackson received his famous nickname, "Stonewall Jackson". The Confederates launched a strong counterattack, and as the Union troops began withdrawing under fire, many panicked and the retreat turned into a rout. McDowell's men frantically ran without order in the direction of Washington DC. Both armies were sobered by the fierce fighting and many casualties, and realized the war was going to be much longer and bloodier than either had anticipated. On the water the Union war effort was going better. The Union Navy led a blockade of all major southern ports effectively stopping all shipping to and from the CSA. Only a few brave blockade runners would make it for the remainder of the war. The strategy was to starve the Confederates into submission. Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theator of the Southern War of Independence, fought April 6 – 7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennesse River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the river. CSA forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant there. The Confederates achieved considerable success on the first day, but were ultimately defeated on the second day. On the first day of the battle, the Confederates struck with the intention of driving the Union defenders away from the river and into the swamps of Owl Creek to the west, hoping to defeat Grant's Army of the Tennessee before the anticipated arrival of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Beull's Army of the Ohio. The Confederate battle lines became confused during the fierce fighting, and Grant's men instead fell back to the northeast, in the direction of Pittsburg Landing. A position on a slightly sunken road, nicknamed the "Hornet's Nest", defended by the men of Brig. Gens. Benjamin M. Prentiss's and W. H. L. Wallace's divisions, provided critical time for the rest of the Union line to stabilize under the protection of numerous artillery batteries. Gen. Johnston was killed during the first day of fighting, and Beauregard, his second in command, decided against assaulting the final Union position that night. Reinforcements from Gen. Buell and from Grant's own army arrived in the evening and turned the tide the next morning, when the Union commanders launched a counterattack along the entire line. The Confederates were forced to retreat from the bloodiest battle in North America's history up to that time, ending their hopes that they could block the Union advance into northern Mississippi. Seven Days Campaign The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the Southern War of Independence. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from Richmond and into a retreat down the Virginia Peninsula. The series of battles is sometimes known erroneously as the Seven Days Campaign, but it was actually the culmination of the Peninsula Campaign, not a separate campaign in its owhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Oak_Groven right. The Seven Days began on June 25, 1862, with a Union attack in the minor Battle of Oak Grove, but McClellan quickly lost the initiative as Lee began a series of attacks at Beaver Dam Creek on June 26, Gaines's Mill on June 27, the minor actions at Garnett's and Golding's Farm on June 27 and June 28, and the attack on the Union rear guard at Savage's Station on June 29. McClellan's Army of the Potomac continued its retreat toward the safety of Harrison's Landing on the James River. Lee's final opportunity to intercept the Union Army was at the Battle of Glendale on June 30, but poorly executed orders allowed his enemy to escape to a strong defensive position on Malvern Hill. At the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, Lee launched futile frontal assaults and suffered heavy casualties in the face of strong infantry and artillery defenses. The Seven Days ended with McClellan's army in relative safety next to the James River, having suffered almost 16,000 casualties during the retreat. Lee's army, which had been on the offensive during the Seven Days, lost over 20,000. As Lee became convinced that McClellan would not resume his threat against Richmond, he moved north for the Northern Virginia Campaign and the Maryland Campaign. Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia, and a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) fought in 1861 on the samhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_Jacksone ground. Following a wide-ranging flanking march, Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson captured the Union supply depot at Manassas Junction, threatening Pope's line of communications with Washington DC. Withdrawing a few miles to the northwest, Jackson took up defensive positions on Stony Ridge. On August 28, 1862, Jackson attacked a Union column just east of Gainesville, at Brawner's Farm, resulting in a stalemate. On that same day, the wing of Lee's army commanded by Maj. Gen. James Longstreet broke through light Union resistance in the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap and approached the battlefield. Pope became convinced that he had trapped Jackson and concentrated the bulk of his army against him. On August 29, Pope launched a series of assaults against Jackson's position along an unfinished railroad grade. The attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties on both sides. At noon, Longstreet arrived on the field from Thoroughfare Gap and took position on Jackson's right flank. On August 30, Pope renewed his attacks, seemingly unaware that Longstreet was on the field. When massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault by Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter's V Corps, Longstreet's wing of 25,000 men in five divisions counterattacked in the largest, simultaneous mass assault of the war. The Union left flank was crushed and the army was driven back to Bull Run. Only an effective Union rear guard action prevented a replay of the First Manassas disaster. Pope's retreat to Centreville was nonetheless precipitous. Battle of Harpers Ferry The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the Southern War of Independence. As Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army invaded Maryland, a portion of his army under Ma. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson surrounded, bombarded, and captured the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), a major victory at relatively minor cost. As Lee's Army of Nothern Virginia advanced down the Shenandoah Valley into Maryland, he planned to capture the garrison and arsenal at Harpers Ferry, not only to seize its supplies of rifles and ammunition, but to secure his line of supply back to Virginia. Although he was being pursued at a leisurely pace by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac, outnumbering him more than two to one, Lee chose the risky strategy of dividing his army and sent one portion to converge and attack Harpers Ferry from three directions. Col. Dixon S. Miles, Union commander at Harpers Ferry, insisted on keeping most of the troops near the town instead of taking up commanding positions on the surrounding heights. The slim defenses of the most important position, Maryland Heights, first encountered the approaching Confederate on September 12, but only brief skirmishing ensued. Strong attacks by two Confederate brigades on September 13 drove the Union troops from the heights. During the fighting on Maryland Heights, the other Confederate columns arrived and were astonished to see that critical positions to the west and south of town were not defended. Jackson methodically positioned his artillery around Harpers Ferry and ordered Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill to move down the west bank of the Shenandoah River in preparation for a flank attack on the Federal left the next morning. By the morning of September 15, Jackson had positioned nearly 50 guns on Maryland Heights and at the base of Loudoun Heights. He began a fierce artillery barrage from all sides and ordered an infantry assault. Miles realized that the situation was hopeless and agreed with his subordinates to raise the white flag of surrender. Before he could surrender personally, he was mortally wounded by an artillery shell and died the next day. After processing more than 12,000 Union prisoners, Jackson's men then rushed to Sharpsburg, Maryland, to rejoin Lee for the Battle of Antietam. Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South, fought on Wednesday, September 17, 1862, near Sgharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the Southern War of Independence to take place on Union soil. After pursuing Confederate General Robert E. Lee into Maryland, Union Army Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan launched attacks against Lee's army, in defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. At dawn on September 17, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's corps mounted a powerful assault on Lee's left flank. Attacks and counterattacks swept across Miller's cornfield and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church. Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center, but the Federal advantage was not followed up. In the afternoon, Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside's corps entered the action, capturing a stone bridge over Antietam Creek and advancing against the Confederate right. At a crucial moment, Confederate Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill's division arrived from Harpers Ferry and launched a surprise counterattack, driving back Burnside and ending the battle. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. During the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout September 18, while removing his battered army south of the Potomac River. Despite having superiority of numbers, McClellan's attacks failed to achieve force concentration, allowing Lee to counter by shifting forces and moving interior lines to meet each challenge. Despite ample reserve forces that could have been deployed to exploit localized successes, McClellan failed to destroy Lee's army. McClellan had halted Lee's invasion of Maryland, but Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan. Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, the Confederate troops had withdrawn first from the battlefield, making it, in military terms, a Union victory. It had significance as enough of a victory to give President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to announce his Emancipation Proclamation, which discouraged the British and French governments from potential plans for recognition of the Confederacy and change perceptions of the war to renew Union morale. Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. The Union army's futile frontal attacks on December 13 against entrenched Confederate defenders on the heights behind the city is remembered as one of the most one-sided battles of the Southern war of Independence, with Union casualties more than twice as heavy as those suffered by the Confed erates. Burnside's plan was to cross the Rappahanock River at Fredericksburg in mid-November and race to the Confederate capital of Richmond before Lee's army could stop him. Bureaucratic delays prevented Burnside from receiving the necessary pontoon bridges in time and Lee moved his army to block the crossings. When the Union army was finally able to build its bridges and cross under fire, urban combat resulted in the city on December 11–12. Union troops prepared to assault Confederate defensive positions south of the city and on a strongly fortified ridge just west of the city known as Marye's Heights. On December 13, the "grand division" of Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin was able to pierce the first defensive line of Confederate Lt. Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson to the south, but was finally repulsed. Burnside ordered the grand divisions of Maj. Gens. Edwin V. Sumner and Joseph Hooker to make multiple frontal assaults against Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's position on Marye's Heights, all of which were repulsed with heavy losses. On December 15, Burnside withdrew his army, ending another failed Union campaign in the Eastern Theator. It was after this battle, that Robert E. Lee was qouted saying; "It is good that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it." Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville was the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on May 3 in the vicinity of Fredericksburg. The campaign pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's Army of the Potomac a gainst an army less than half its size, Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern virginia. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because his risky decision to divide his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force resulted in a significant Confederate victory. The victory, a product of Lee's audacity and Hooker's timid decision making, was bolstered by Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson. The Chancellorsville Campaign began with the crossing of the Rappahanock River by the Union army on the morning of April 27, 1863. Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. George Stoneman began a long distance raid against Lee's supply lines at about the same time. This operation was completely ineffectual. Crossing the Rapidan River via Germanna and Ely's Fords, the Federal infantry concentrated near Chancellorsville on April 30. Combined with the Union force facing Fredericksburg, Hooker planned a double envelopment, attacking Lee from both his front and rear. On May 1, Hooker advanced from Chancellorsville toward Lee, but the Confederate general split his army in the face of superior numbers, leaving a small force at Fredericksburg to deter Maj. Gen. John Sedgewick from advancing, while he attacked Hooker's advance with about 4/5ths of his army. Despite the objections of his subordinates, Hooker withdrew his men to the defensive lines around Chancellorsville, ceding the initiative to Lee. On May 2, Lee divided his army again, sending Stonewall Jackson's entire corps on a flanking march that routed the Union XI Corps. The fiercest fighting of the battle—and the second bloodiest day of the Civil War—occurred on May 3 as Lee launched multiple attacks against the Union position at Chancellorsville, resulting in heavy losses on both sides. That same day, Sedgwick advanced across the Rappahannock River, defeated the small Confederate force at Marye's Heights in the Second Battle of Fredericksburg and then moved to the west. The Confederates fought a successful delaying action at the Battle of Salem Church and by May 4 had driven back Sedgwick's men to Banks's Ford, surrounding them on three sides. Sedgwick withdrew across the ford early on May 5, and Hooker withdrew the remainder of his army across U.S. Ford the night of May 5–6. The campaign ended on May 7 when Stoneman's cavalry reached Union lines east of Richmond. Battle of Gettysburg After Robert E. Lee's success at Chancellorsville he pushed north into Union territory. The goal was to bring the war to an end by taking the fight to Union soil and destroying the Army of the Potomac. Doing so would be a finishing blow to Union forces in the Eastern Theator and would get rid of the last major Union force capable of stopping a Confederate advance on Washington DC. It http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg#cite_note-37was also intended to effect the nearing Union elections so that Lincoln would lose to the Copperheads, who wanted a negotiated peace with the Confederacy. And a note was prepared by the Confederate government to be delivered to Lincoln's desk after the destruction of the Union army of the Potomac. The battle was fought around and in the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On July 1-3 in 1863. The Union force was led by George G. Meade and John F. Reynolds and numbered 93,921. While the Confederates were led by Gen. Robert E. Lee and numbered 71,699. It would be the largest battle in the Southern War of Independence. Anticipating that the Confederates would march on Gettysburg from the west on the morning of July 1, Buford laid out his defenses on three ridges west of the town: Herr Ridge, McPherson Ridge, and Seminary Ridge. These were appropriate terrain for a delaying action by his small cavalry division against superior Confederate infantry forces, meant to buy time awaiting the arrival of Union infantrymen who could occupy the strong defensive positions south of town at Cemetary Hill, Cemetary Ridge, and Culp's Hill. Buford understood that if the Confederates could gain control of these heights, Meade's army would have difficulty dislodging them. Heth's division advanced with two brigades forward, commanded by Brig. Gens. James A. Archer and Joseph R. Davis. They proceeded easterly in columns along the Chambersburg Pike. Three miles (5 km) west of town, about 7:30 a.m. on July 1, the two brigades met light resistance from vedettes of Union cavalry, and deployed into line. According to lore, the Union soldier to fire the first shot of the battle was Lt. Marcellus Jones. In 1886 Lt. Jones returned to Gettysburg to mark the spot where he fired the first shot with a monument. Eventually, Heth's men reached dismounted troopers of Col. William Gamble's cavalry brigade, who raised determined resistance and delaying tactics from behind fence posts with fire from their breechloading carbines. Still, by 10:20 a.m., the Confederates had pushed the Union cavalrymen east to McPherson Ridge, when the vanguard of the I Corps (Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds) finally arrived. North of the pike, Davis gained a temporary success against Brig. Gen. Lysander Cutler's brigade but was repulsed with heavy losses in an action around an unfinished railroad bed cut in the ridge. South of the pike, Archer's brigade assaulted through Herbst (also known as McPherson's) Wood s. The Federal Iron Brigade under Brig. Gen. Soloman Meredith enjoyed initial success against Archer, capturing several hundred men, including Archer himself. General Reynolds was shot and killed early in the fighting while directing troop and artillery placements just to the east of the woods. Shelby Foote wrote that the Union cause lost a man considered by many to be "the best general in the army." Maj. Gen. Abner Doubleday assumed command. Fighting in the Chambersburg Pike area lasted until about 12:30 p.m. It resumed around 2:30 p.m., when Heth's entire division engaged, adding the brigades of Pettigrew and Col. John M. Brockenbroug. As Pettigrew's North Carolina Brigade came on line, they flanked the 19th Indiana and drove the Iron Brigade back. The 26th North Carolina (the largest regiment in the army with 839 men) lost heavily, leaving the first day's fight with around 212 men. By the end of the three-day battle, they had about 152 men standing, the highest casualty percentage for one battle of any regiment, North or South. Slowly the Iron Brigade was pushed out of the woods toward Seminary Ridge. Hill added Maj. Gen. William Doresy Pender's division to the assault, and the I Corps was driven back through the grounds of the Lutheran Seminary and Gettysburg streets. As the fighting to the west proceeded, two divisions of Ewell's Second Corps, marching west toward Cashtown in accordance with Lee's order for the army to concentrate in that vicinity, turned south on the Carlisle and Harrisburg roads toward Gettysburg, while the Union XI Corps (Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard) raced north on the Baltimore Pike and Taneytown Road. By early afternoon, the Federal line ran in a semicircle west, north, and northeast of Gettysburg. However, the Federals did not have enough troops; Cutler, who was deployed north of the Chambersburg Pike, had his right flank in the air. The leftmost division of the XI Corps was unable to deploy in time to strengthen the line, so Doubleday was forced to throw in reserve brigades to salvage his line. Around 2 p.m., the Confederate Second Corps divisions of Maj. Gens. Robert E. Rhodes and Jubal Early assaulted and out-flanked the Union I and XI Corps positions north and northwest of town. The Confederate brigades of Col. Edward A. O'Neal and Brig. Gen. Alfred Iverson suffered severe losses assaulting the I Corps division of Brig. Gen. John C. Robinson south of Oak Hill. Early's division profited from a blunder by Brig. Gen. Francis C. Barlow, when he advanced his XI Corps division to Blocher's Knoll (directly north of town and now known as Barlow's Knoll); this represented a salient in the corps line, susceptible to attack from multiple sides, and Early's troops overran Barlow's division, which constituted the right flank of the Union Army's position. Barlow was wounded and captured in the attack. As Federal positions collapsed both north and west of town, Gen. Howard ordered a retreat to the high ground south of town at Cemetery Hill, where he had left the division of Brig. Gen. Adolph von Steinwhr in reserve. Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock assumed command of the battlefield, sent by Meade when he heard that Reynolds had been killed. Hancock, commander of the II Corps and Meade's most trusted subordinate, was ordered to take command of the field and to determine whether Gettysburg was an appropriate place for a major battle. Hancock told Howard, "I think this the strongest position by nature upon which to fight a battle that I ever saw." When Howard agreed, Hancock concluded the discussion: "Very well, sir, I select this as the battle-field." Hancock's determination had a morale-boosting effect on the retreating Union soldiers, but he played no direct tactical role on the first day. General Lee understood the defensive potential to the Union if they held this high ground. He sent orders to Jackson that Cemetery Hill be taken "if practicable." Jackson, an aggresive commander knew that Lee had meant it must be taken from the Union. Jackson, then led his "Stonewall Brigade" up Cemetary Hill and despite fierce resistance he attacked soon enough and with enough force to not allow the Union a strong hold of the hill and pushed them off of Cemetary Hill, giving the Confederacy a distinct advantage as without Cemetary Hill and Cemetary Ridge to connect Culp's Hill and Little Round Top the Union defensive positions were highly comprimised by the aggressive attacks of the Confederate Army. When Meade learned of Cemetary Hill's fall he was advised to retreat the army by Hancock but instead confirmedthat they would fight Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and defeat the seemingly invincible Lee. On the second day of battle Mead's army was almost divided but he held strong flanks and could focus efforts on recapturing Cemetary Hill from the Confederacy, but Gen. James Longstreet was placed in charge of the Confederate Forces occupying Cemetary Hill and was supported by artillery. As fighting spread throughout the second day the Confederate army under orders of Lee attacked the flanks of the Union army at little round top and Culp's Hill. The Union flanks held and inflicted large casualties on A. P. Hills Corps and Pickett's Corps was repulsed. J. E. B. Stuart's calvary returned and reported on the Union movements and that they were moving to reinforce the center. Both Union flanks were attacked and they were strong on the flanks but the Union Center was vulnerable. And Lee, realizing if he could break the Union center he could entrap the divided Army of the Potomac and destroy them. But it had to be done quickly, or else the Union armies under Meade would gather strength and counter attack and possibly retake Cemetary Hill and Cemetary Ridge. Meaning that in order for the Confederates to attack the new, stronger Union lines they would have to cross open field and into cannon and rifle fire that would be a blodd bath. So Lee, ordered for Generals Jackson, Pickett and Lewis A. Armistead to charge the Union center under cover of Confederate artillery, to break through the Union center and divide the army. Meade realized what Lee's next attack was going to do and ordered reinforcements from the flanks to stregthen the center. The resulting Confederate Charge is known as "Stonewall's Charge" even though the majority of the soldiers in the charge belonged to George Pickett. The charge consisted of almost 15,000 Confederate soldiers and is the most famous Confederate action in the war. When the lines clashed the Confederate forces took heavy casualties and Armistead was shot and wounded in the attack. Thousands were wounded but the Union lines were disorganized and when the Confederate troops broke the lines panic ensued. And Union forces retreated to the flanks and high ground. And after all day of fighting the second day made it clear that the Union Army of the Potomac hung on a knife's edge. The remnants of the Union army were centered on two hills, divided from each other on the third day of the battle. Culp's hill and Little Round Top. Lee then moved his srmy to surround both hills and entrap and finish the Union army. The Union forces fought ot the last and made the Confederates pay dearly for the attacks but with supply lines cut and surrounded they soon ran out of bullets to shoot Confederate soldiers with. A notable action was that of Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain of the Union Army, who after his men ordered ran out of ammunition he, rather then surrender ordered a final charge. A bayonet charge to drive into the Confederate lines and cause as many casualties as possible. But, after the attack, the battle was clearly over. Of the nearly 95,000 Union soldiers only about 10,000 escaped destruction. It was the largest Union defeat of the war and now no army stood between Lee and Washington DC. On July 5, a note offering peace with the Union was delivered to Abraham Lincoln's desk. And with no choice, Lincoln agreed to negotiate a peace with the Confederacy. Union Surrender, Confederate Independence In the months that followed the Union armies ceased all combat operations in the Confederacy and withdrew their forces and the Confederates returned to their native soil. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis each had a set of demands and the first week of negotiations went nowhere. Abraham Lincoln demanded that the Union be allowed to keep territory it captured in the war, and have West Virginia join the Union. Jefferson Davis declared that the borders would return to pre war boundries, that West Virginia would remain a Confederate State and that the western territorial claims be recognized by the Union. After several weeks of negotiations a peace was finally reached. The Union would withdraw from the south, recognize Confederate claims to West Virginia and the western territories of New Mexico and Arizona and the Indian Territoy if the Confederacy payed for the territories and promised eventual elections in West Virginia. The Confederacy agreed and the war was formally over. Aftermath The war marked the beginning of the Southern Confederacy as an independent nation and gave the United States of America a rival power to check it's future growth. The Union were rid of the majority of the slave holding states and thus allowed them to quickly end slavery in what states they had left. While the Confederacy waited until 1886 to issue a "Confederate Emancipation". But in the meantime multiple laws allowed ways for slaves to earn their freedom, primarily by serving in State militias. Also, the Indian Territory became the Confederate State of Shawnee. The Confederacy, in return for the majority of the Native American support during the war allowed the Native tribes in Shawnee to form their own recognized state. A much better situation than the Natives had with the American Expansion. The State would be dominated by Native Americans and State laws were passed that would not allow white settlers for decades. And even today no more than 5% of the state is white or black. However the two "Americas" would be engaged in a small Cold War of sorts for decades to come. As they fortified their border and eventually sparked the North American War. Relations between the two countries would not become friendly until the 1960s.